Portable scaffold



G. ALLOWAY PORTABLE SCAFFOLD Jan. 12, 1943.

Filed April 26, 1941 3nventor Guy flllo wa y Patented Jan. 12, 1943 UNHTED- STAT-E3 F AEENT',

FE'EQE' 1 Claim.

My invention relates to portable scafiolds, and more particularly to an adjustable scaffold consisting of a pair of scaffold members that are suspended vertically from the roof of a building and serve as supports for boards or planks upon which workmen stand when painting; repairing or doing any other kind of work on the outside of buildings.

Certain objects of the invention are to provide adjusting bracket means whereby the upper ends of the scaffold members are supported from roofs of different slants; adjustable bracket means whereby the planks are supported at different heights; and novel bracket means whereby the lower ends of the scaffold members are braced away from the sideof a building for the purpose of retaining said scaffold members in proper position. The ultimate object of the invention is to provide a scafifcld that is always ready and available for use and saves the time, material and expense of constructing a new scaffold for each piece of work.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing one of the scaffold members installed in position on the side of a building and hanging from the roof thereof;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same;

Fig. 4 is a view in horizontal section taken on a broken line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail view in perspective showing one of the brackets for supporting a plank upon which workmen stand; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view in perspective of a different form of hinge connection for supporting the scaffold from roofs.

Referring in detail to the drawing wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts in the several views, the numeral 5 designates the side of a building and the numeral 6 designates an outer portion of its roof. While it will be understood that two scaffold members are used, only one will be described for the reason that they are identical in construction. The reference numeral 7 indicates the main upright of a scaffold, such as a two by four or the like. This upright is provided with a plurality of small holes 8 spaced apart throughout its length for use as hereinafter specified.

The means for suspending the upper end of the main upright 1 from the roof of a building comprises a triangular bracket preferably made of wood and consisting of a horizontal base piece 9, an upstanding piece it] having its lower end secured to an end of said base piece, and a slanting brace piece H having its ends secured to said horizontal and upstanding pieces respectively. The upstanding piece it? fits snugly against the upper end portion of the main upright and an angular strap !2 is fixed to the upper end of said upstanding piece and forms a sleeve around said main upright. A. corresponding sleeve strap l3; fixed to the inner end of the horizontal piece 9 and embracing the main upright, may be secured thereto by a bolt Id. A rectangular wooden plate I5 is secured to the outer and under end portion of the horizontal piece 9 by a hinge l6 and rests on the roof 6 when the device is installed as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing;

The piece l5 may be equipped in its under side with one or more projecting spikes to retain it against slippage on a roof to which it i applied, or nails might be driven through the piece to anchor it to the roof.

The hinge Iii shown in Fig. 1 is adapted for use when working on the sides of a building or on those with comparatively flat roofs. In Fig. 6 I have shown adifferent form of hinge that is adapted for use when working on the ends of buildings having gable roofs or roofs with considerable slant. In this form, the upper hinge plate I! remains fixed to the outer and under end portion of the horizontal bracket piece 9 as before. The lower hinge plate l8, however, is fixed to the wooden plate It at right angles to its former position. A connecting member is interposed between said upper and lower hinge plates and consists of a sleeve portion l9 pivotally encircling the pin of the hinge plate 18, a yoke portion 20 to which the plate i! is pivoted, and a shank portion 2| connecting said sleeve and shank. This connecting member changes 7 the direction of pivotal movement of the hinge ninety degrees or at right angles to its former movement, and the shank 2| permits ample hinge movement when using the device on houses with steep roofs and gable ends as will be understood.

The adjustable means for supporting the planks upon which workmen stand comprises a triangular bracket of wood and consisting of an upright member 22 which fits slidably against the main upright l, a horizontal member 23 having one of its ends fastened to the top of said upright, and a slanting brace 2% having its ends secured to the said upright and horizontal members. The upright 22 has a pair of fiange plates 25 fixed to its lower end which serve as guides for retaining said, piece in slidable engagement with the main upright l. The horizontal member 23 has a sleeve strap 26 fixed to its inner end for slidable movement upon the main upright. A small chain 21 has one of its ends fixed to said strap and its other end connected to a pin 28. This pin is inserted into one of the small holes 8 and the sleeve strap rests on the pin so that the bracket may be shifted to different heights on the main upright I. A plank 29 rests on the horizontal member 23, and a small cleat 3D is fixed to its end to form a shoulder for pre-- venting the plank from slipping off.

The particular advantages in this portable scaffold reside in the fact that it i adjustable for any height of building. The main uprights 1' may be any desired length and extend from the ground to as far above the top of the building as desired. In fact, the plank supporting brackets, each embodying a horizontal member 23, may be adjustably disposed on the main upright 1 above the roof of a building, and also on said main uprights below the bracket which braces the lower end of said main uprights away from the building. This bracket which braces the main uprights away from the building is constructed, braced, and equipped so that it may also be used as a plank supporting means if desired. It will thus be seen that this portable scaffold may be used as a plank supporting means throughout its entire height and the height of the building.

The means for bracing the lower end of the scaffold member away from a building when it is hung from its roof is also in the form of a triangular bracket made of wood and consisting of an upright member 3! which fits against the main upright I, a horizontal member 32 having its inner end fastened to the top of said upright, and a slanting brace 33 having its ends secured to the upright and horizontal members. The upright member 3| has a sleeve strap 34 fixed thereto, and the horizontal member 32 has a similar strap 35 fixed to its inner end. These sleeves receive the main upright I when installing same and a pin 36, connected to a small chain 31 which is secured to the upper sleeve strap, serves as a stop for supporting this bracket in place when inserted in one of the holes 8 against the bottom edge of the lower sleeve strap. The horizontal member 32 has a cross-head 38 fixed to its outer end, and a pair of metal braces 39 fixed thereto serve to hold the cross-head in place on the horizontal member.

As hereinbefore stated, the main scafiold members shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are used in pairs. They are light in weight, may be readily transported, assembled and disassembled, and elimimate the necessity of constructing new scafiolds for each piece of work done. When they are hung from the roof of a building, their plates l5 hinged to their brackets automatically adjust themselves to the slant of the roof, and their cross-heads 38 fixed to their lower brackets hold them in rigid vertical position away from the building with but little adjustment. Their intermediate brackets, which support the planks 29, are held in spaced relation from the building, as shown at 40 in Fig. 1, so that they do not interfere with work being done on the building. These intermediate brackets may be readily adjusted to any desired height, and any desired number may be used. And, as shown in Fig. 1, one or more of them may be installed on the outside of the scaffold to support planks which serve as shelves for conveniently holding tools, paint and other materials.

I claim:

A portable scafiold comprising spaced upright members, a supporting bracket mounted on the upper end portion of each upright member for the adjustment of the upright member vertically therethrough, releasable means for securing the position of adjustment of each of said brackets on its corresponding upright member, a plate hinged to the outer end of each of said brackets to adapt it to fiatly and holdingly engage upon the roof of a building for the support of the upright member, a bracket brace member mounted on the lower portion of each upright member for adjustment along the member, and adapted to engage at its end against the side of the building which supports the upright to retain the latter in upright position, releasable means for securing the adjustment of said bracket brace, and a plank supporting bracket mounted for vertical adjustment on each of the upright members for movement between the supporting bracket and the bracket brace member, and means for retaining the plank supporting brackets at set positions of adjustment.

GUY ALLOWAY. 

